Turkish banking regulator chief resigns amid investment fund crisis fallout

Şahap Kavcıoğlu, head of Turkey’s Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency, announced his resignation to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Wednesday, citing allegations against both the agency and himself amid the fallout from the collapse of investment funds that caused widespread losses for investors.

In a post on X, Kavcıoğlu said he had asked Erdoğan to allow him to step down, explaining that his decision aimed to prevent further harm to the agency due to the recent accusations.

The resignation comes as Turkey grapples with the aftermath of several investment funds collapsing in mid-September, which affected the investments of around half a million people and triggered investigations resulting in the arrest of dozens of executives.

As part of the investigations, Turkish security forces arrested Korkmaz Enes Ergün, CEO of Borsa Istanbul, on November 1 on bribery charges. In October, authorities also detained Taha Çakmak, CEO of the state-owned insurer Türkiye Sigorta, who later resigned from his position.

The case saw further developments after Ali Emre Bali, chairman of distressed asset management firm Adil Varlık Yönetim, was found dead. The circumstances of his death were not detailed in the report.

Former Turkish minister detained

The investigations have also reached prominent political figures. On November 6, a Turkish court ordered the detention of Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya, former minister of family and social services and a former senior member of the ruling Justice and Development Party, as part of the probe into the investment funds.

Kaya had left the party after resigning as its deputy chair in September. An opposition politician accused her of making significant gains from stock trading before the crisis, which was followed by a major sell-off in the stock market.

According to Anadolu Agency, an Istanbul court ordered Kaya, who served as minister from 2016 to 2018, to be held on charges of violating capital markets law and belonging to an organization established to commit a crime.